A generic electric drive unit for the wheels of an axle of a motor vehicle is disclosed in DE 103 4394 1. The electric drive unit comprises two drive shafts mounted rotatably, independently from one another, the drive shafts being driven by an electric motor. For this purpose, the electric motor has a stator that is fixed in the body and a first rotor associated with the first drive shaft and a second rotor, belonging to the second drive shaft. A control device is also provided, which controls the movement of the first rotor independently from the movement of the second rotor, in order to achieve a desired rotation of the first or second drive shaft. The circumstance that the electric motor is subjected to considerable loads via the “drive shaft” load path, for example, during compression or rebound, has been demonstrated to be a disadvantage here.